African nightshade (garden huckleberry type)
organism / organism-solanum-scabrum
ソラヌム・スカブルム / Solanum scabrum
African nightshade (garden huckleberry type) is a broad-leafed African nightshade, a popular leafy vegetable in western, central, and eastern Africa (mnavu in Swahili). Substantial variation in the content and composition of glycoalkaloids in its berries has been reported.
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Reading the bitterness
Solanum scabrum is a broad-leafed African nightshade called mnavu in Swahili. A mini-review states that this broad-leafed nightshade is eaten as a popular leafy vegetable in western, central, and eastern Africa.
For leaves of African nightshades (the Solanum nigrum species complex, including the broad-leafed type called mnavu), a mini-review of existing literature states that traditional cooking methods such as blanching improve palatability and reduce bitterness. This statement concerns the species complex generally, not bitterness specific to Solanum scabrum. It gives no quantitative account of sensory bitterness intensity or its distinction from astringency or acrid harshness.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: Its position as a popular leafy vegetable and broad-leafed nightshade. / The reduction of bitterness through traditional cooking methods and the species-complex scope of that description.
Other names: mnavu (sw)
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Sensory (1)
Scope: A description of African nightshade leaves generally (the Solanum nigrum species complex, including the broad-leafed type called mnavu), not a species-specific mention of bitterness in Solanum scabrum. This species frequently appears in the source as a member of the complex.
Note: The source says that traditional methods such as blanching improve the palatability and reduce the bitterness of African nightshade leaves. It describes that bitterness as coming from bitter-tasting compounds among antinutrients such as glycoalkaloids. It mentions this in 2 places, the Introduction and Household Cooking sections. There is no quantitative description of sensory bitterness intensity or of its distinction from astringency or acrid harshness.
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organism-solanum-scabrum —has_perceived_bitterness_suppressed_by→ "Traditional cooking methods including blanching."How processing and cooking change it (1)
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organism-solanum-scabrum —is_eaten_as→ "A popular leafy vegetable in western, central, and eastern Africa as a broad-leafed nightshade (mnavu)."Safety and regulation (1)
Scope: Berries of Solanum scabrum and S. nigrum.
Note: This concerns berries, not leaves. It describes the rationale of an analytical-chemistry paper, not health advice.
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organism-solanum-scabrum —contains→ "The berries contain structurally diverse glycoalkaloids (including solamargine; 5 types of aglycone skeleton). The source reports substantial variation in their content and composition and states that safe consumption depends on screening their content."